Category Archives: Blogs

Yet another site redesign–featuring donkeys!

I’m using the new version of WordPress. And I finally figured out how to use widgets. But I’m still using the same header image, because last time I changed it Dave got mad at me. And I like tagging my posts. Overall there are a lot more gadgets for me to play with, and that makes me happy.

And now, for your viewing pleasure, a picture of a donkey.
Um, hello.

While we’re on the subject of donkeys–did you know that donkeys are my favorite animal? It’s true. When I was a little boy my favorite donkey was Eeyore from Winnie the Pooh. And last time I went to Disneyland (6 years ago) I saw some worker-person dressed up in an Eeyore costume. I flipped the fuck out, dropped my things, and ran towards him/her shouting “Eeyore!!!”

Remember the Shrek movies? My favorite character? Donkey!

And when we were kids our parents would take us over to the stables in Yosemite Valley. I always wanted to ride donkeys, not horses.

Best donkey commercial ever.

Best YouTube donkey ever.

When Yum and I moved into our new apartment I happened to look over the fence. What did I see? Two miniature donkeys in a field! It was a sign. I was meant to live here.

I love donkeys, and I don’t care who knows!

Da Civic Rides Again

The Ranger is dead. I’ve been meaning to update for the last six weeks, but I just couldn’t bring myself to do so. I loved that 1997 Ford Ranger pickup. It was good to me. And now it’s gone.

That truck got me to the beach and back more times than I can count, when I lived in SoCal. The floor had a 1-2 inch permanent layer of sand on the floor. The bed was covered in surf wax. My board was always sticking out the back.

When I moved back to NorCal the Ranger got me up to the mountains often. I’d take it off-road (it had great ground clearance), down fire trails and logging roads to the best fly fishing spots.

The Ranger has single-handedly moved my stuff several times over the last ten years.

But the time has come to say good bye. I brought it to the Ford dealer to fix all the nagging problems as of late. Just to get it smog ready and legal (so I could register it) was going to cost me 2,000 dollars.

“Stop. Stop. Just stop what you’re doing,” I told the service manager. “Don’t put it back together, don’t fix anything else. Just stop.”

The next day I signed over the pink slip for the cost of the repair’s running total (around a grand) and wiped my hands clean.

“Good bye, old friend,” I said as I ran my hand over the hood one last time. The end of an era.

**********

And a new one begins! As soon as the service manager called me and broke the bad news I knew exactly what I was going to do. I knew what I wanted right away.

I wanted a Yaris! A 2008 Toyota Yaris liftback in Bayou Blue with an automatic transmission and the power package.

Me and my new buddy

It’s a great little commuter car. I’m getting almost 400 miles on a full tank of gas (about 11 gallons). And for such a small car it’s very comfortable, even for a big guy like me. The ride is smooth and the inside is nice and quiet. I’m quite happy with it =) I’m looking forward to a summer full of road trips.

You can view more pictures here.

It’s not my dream car (2008 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Rubicon 4 door) but it was cheap and practical. It was around $15,000 after all the tax and license and fees and stuff. So I can sleep at night and not have to eat top ramen every day.

So I need a name for my new car, any suggestions?

Leisure Town

Well, it’s official. We heard from the property manager today–we’re moving to Vacaville. And get this… the name of our new street is Leisure Town Road. Awww yeah, baby!

When we were looking for a new place to live I saw the name of the street and immediately knew that was the place for me. Oh hell yeah, I want to live in Leisure Town!

And Vacaville is about 40 minutes from work, and 30 minutes from Sacramento. We’re out of the Bayarrhea, but just barely. One hour from Jeff, Scott, Jimmy, and Curt in Roseville! Two hours from Truckee! Two hours from the cabin in Strawberry! 100 minutes from Jimmy’s ranch in Elk Creek! And we’re a little over an hour from Yuba City!

I’m so excited! I wish we were moving tomorrow, but we have to wait another two weeks. Leisure Town… that’s so damn cool… love that name.

Ahhhh… I can barely contain my excitement =)